


The Doctor, Plus Two

by Caedmon



Series: Doctor/Rose Prompts [9]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Oops, Surprises, This got long, Tumblr Prompt, nothing here but fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-12
Updated: 2015-10-12
Packaged: 2018-04-26 01:44:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4985182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caedmon/pseuds/Caedmon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose thinks she has a surprise for the Doctor...but he has one for her in turn.</p><p>  <i>From a tumblr prompt on timepetalsprompts: FIC IDEA: Rose tells the Doctor that she invited her mother to come traveling with them. The Doctor horrified about the idea of having Jackie Tyler traveling with them protests this idea only to be responded to by a giggling Rose who just joking, and only wanted to see his reaction. (Sideprompt: Maybe, actually, much to Rose’s surprise, the Doctor’s pleased as punch about it. Maybe it’s a Gallifreyan courtship ritual that signals intention?)</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	The Doctor, Plus Two

**Author's Note:**

> This turned out a bit longer and more character study-ish than I had intended and I took it in a _slightly_ different direction, but hopefully it's okay!
> 
> The usual...  
> ~I own nothing but the mistakes. All of those are mine, as I have no beta (and even then, they would still all be mine.  
> ~If you're reading this, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  
> ~Feedback makes me a better writer and keeps the muse smacking me until I sit down at the laptop. Any suggestions, ideas, comments or whatever that you're willing to give are greatly appreciated!  
> ~Come talk to me! caedmonfaith.tumblr.com

The console dinged.

The Doctor looked up suddenly, immediately dipping his head back down with a hum of surprise to compensate for the slosh of steaming hot tea that hit his mouth unexpectedly with the sudden change in trajectory. He finished the sip he’d started quickly and sat the mug down, preoccupied, on the way to answer the summons of the timer bell and find out what the Tardis had to tell him.

The screen with the answers he was after was facing away from him. Impatient, he turned the monitor towards him hurriedly before he had reached his place at the controls, pulling it along with him while he took the last couple of steps. He squinted at the screen as if the results were confusing, then reached into his pocket and pulled out his brainy specs. The Doctor slipped them on without looking and adjusted his squint accordingly.

This, apparently, did not help, and neither did leaning forward and putting his face right next to the screen. It seemed that the information stubbornly remained the same. So the Doctor typed a few commands into the keyboard and looked back up, squinting again.

Still not satisfied, he typed in another command, checked the screen, reading the information displayed there with his eyes flying back and forth quickly, his mouth forming soundless, disjointed words. He typed one last command, checked the screen a final time, then whipped off his specs.

The Doctor put his hands on the console and bent at the waist, his arms stiff and head hanging freely. The position didn’t last, though; he remained that way only long enough for one deep breath in and out, then another inhale before he raised his head on the exhale, a tiny smile giving way to a breathy laugh.

The Tardis doors opened and the Doctor pushed himself upright, jerking to attention, ordering himself to school his features and slapping the button that would clear the screen and return it to the usual Gallifreyan symbols. He shoved one hand into his pocket by way of his hair and used the other to oh-so-casually pick and poke at controls at random...while looking like he knew exactly what he was doing, of course. 

Business as usual. Typical Time Lord stuff. Nothing to see here.

“Doctor?”

Rose’s voice came from around the console; she couldn’t see him yet, he was on the opposite side of the console from the doors. Which was brilliant as it gave him just an extra second to be casual. Really settle into the role, you know.

Not that he needed such a thing. He was an expert at being casual, he was. Cool-headed. Welll…sometimes. When there wasn’t something of vital, life-or-death importance going on. Wellll…

“Doctor, you around? Got something I wanted to talk to you about…”

Anyway. He could discuss his infinite and frankly fantastic ability to regulate his emotions and multitask later. Right now, he had to pay attention to...

“Rose Tyler!” he called back to her, the smile in his voice genuine. “My beloved, my precious girl, keeper of my hearts, love of my lives, the Shiver to my Shake…”

Rose appeared around the console to his right, meeting his bright smile with a suspicious upturn of her lips and narrowed gaze. “Doctor? What have you done?”

“Done?”

“Yeah. ‘ _Done_ ,’” she confirmed, crossing her arms and leaning to the side to prop her hip on the console before crossing her ankles in a casual/sassy pose that was just so bloody adorable. The Doctor looked at her, absorbing the happiness that came from just being in the same room with her and took a moment just to marvel at her. To take her in; the large flakes from the heavy London snow melting in her hair from the warmth the Tardis provided, her cheeks flushed pink - most likely from cold, but he much preferred to think he was the cause of all her flushes.

Over the three-and-a-half years of their travels together, they had bought her no less than six winter coats, but she never used the coat she bought for herself very long before she went right back to his heavy winter coat and claimed it for her very own - again - declaring that he never wore it and she might as well.

It was in his too-large coat that she stood now, the fur-lined hood lying on her shoulders, letting her hair fall out about her face a little and the puffy sleeves that were too big anyway looking a bit ridiculous crossed across her chest. She was bloody stunning, is what she was.

“You’re layin’ it on rather thick there, Time Lord, what with all that 'love of my lives' and 'my beloved' stuff," she accused, still looking at him, almost smirking. “Makes me wonder what you’re up to.”

“It's not _stuff!_ " The Doctor sputtered. He raised his hand to his chest in mock offense. "Can't a man profess his undying love, devotion and admiration for his plus-one without his motives being questioned anymore?”

“Nope,” Rose answered simply, popping the ‘p’, her arms still crossed, hip still cocked, eyebrow still reaching for her hairline.

“I’m wounded that you think of me this way, Rose,” he said, and she snorted a laugh. He went on, the picture of injured pride. “No, really. You’ve cut me deep, Rose Tyler. Your rejection of my amorous advances -”

Rose laughed outright, and he grinned. “These are your amorous advances, Doctor?”

“Did they work?”

He raised one eyebrow hopefully.

She laughed again and uncrossed her arms, swatting at him with the sleeve of the overlarge coat. The Doctor could feel the miniscule droplets of water that had been snow only moments ago when the fabric of the sleeves brushed against his hand. Rose was giggling and punctuating each playful swing of the empty sleeve with a word:

”You.”

 _*swat*_

“Are.”

_*swat*_

“Completely.”

_*swat*_

_”Barmy.”_

She advanced on him and he pretended to cringe and raise his hands in self-defense, enjoying the interplay. When she got close enough, though, he darted both hands forward and hooked his fingers through her belt loops, tugging her to him. She stilled her hands against his chest and looked up at him, laughs dying away slowly. He looked down at her, his tongue tucked in behind his teeth.

“Barmy, am I?”

“ _Completely_ barmy,” she said earnestly.

“Mmm.”

“A barmy old man.”

“Oi!” he called out. Rose burst into renewed laughter and he pretended to scowl. “That's a bit offsides, don't you think? M’in the prime of my life, I’ll have you know!”

Rose patted his cheek once she settled and stood on tiptoe to kiss him sweetly. “‘Course I know. M’just winding you up, I didn’t mean it.” She kissed him again, then pulled back an inch, smiling mischievously with her tongue touching the corner of her mouth and said, “You’re not really barmy, Doctor. Just old.”

“Oh, you’ll pay for that one, you will.”

Rose squealed when she took off down the corridor, the Doctor hot on her heels.

~*~O~*~

They huddled together on the couch a few hours later, both in their pyjamas and Rose under a blanket. The Doctor didn't usually wander the Tardis less than fully dressed; in fact, until he and Rose finally got over themselves and admitted that they were, actually, head-over-heels in love with one another, he rarely even took his jacket off, but she had thoroughly pulled him out of his shell around her and their time-traveling home. 

He had his feet kicked up comfortably on the table in front of the couch while Rose had assumed her usual position, curled into his side. He could tell from her soft weight as well as her easy breathing, interspersed with the tiniest jump as if startled, that she was nodding off. She'd been tired a lot lately, so he didn't bother to keep her awake for the good parts of the film. When she didn’t move as the credits started to roll, he just smiled and stroked her hair for a few minutes, changing the channel to the news broadcast from a planet in the nearest arm of the nearest galaxy and sat quietly, letting her sleep and cherishing the domesticity of the moment.

Oh, how she had changed him. ‘Changed’ wasn’t even the right word, although it certainly applied. ‘Saved’ was a much better choice. He had been standing on the precipice of madness, but she had lured him back with her unflinching love and compassion. He still didn't understand what she saw in him. He never would. But Rose Tyler had somehow, miraculously, looked beyond every wall he erected, every defense he threw up, every insult and bitter word spat in her direction and saw something worth salvaging, someone worth loving. The Doctor would be grateful as long as he lived. 

But he had been so obstinate in the beginning, so opposed to her bringing any semblance of home and hearth on board his ship and into his life. It was the last thing he had thought he wanted or needed. He knew and believed with his whole heart that Rose had had no intention of disobeying him, of bringing anything on board would make the place comfortable beyond her own room - and thus uncomfortable for him.

The problem was that _her very presence_ softened the Tardis, their travels, the time that he had previously spent brooding and alone...all of those things were now very comfortable for him, simply because she was _there._ He’d resisted for a while, of course, insisting that Rose could stay, that if he had his way she’d never leave. But the domestics could never come aboard (and most certainly weren't already), denying the very existence of her soft touch even as he basked in it like a cat in sunlight.

Eventually, over time, it occurred to him that from the moment he realized he didn’t want her to leave, the thing he claimed to dread so much had been there. They cooked together, they watched TV together, they had rows then made up, he celebrated holidays with her, he went to her mum’s house for Christmas (Jackie was actually a fabulous cook so that wasn’t much of a hardship)...there was really nothing for it. The Doctor, last Time Lord of Gallifrey, was living a home life with Rose Tyler, pink and yellow human girl from Earth. 

It was completely unorthodox, their version of hearth and home. It was constantly moving, their backyard was the universe, their neighbors anyone at anytime in anyplace, but it was their life and home. They’d been through so much together...denying what they felt for each other to themselves and the world at large, Bad Wolf, a regeneration, losing and finding each other oh-so-many times, losing and gaining friends...and still they remained together, facing everything they met whether good or bad hand-in-hand, together and solid, the Stuff of Legends, constantly evolving to meet the needs around them.

It was incredibly domestic and the Doctor - for all his bluster when they met and he was a hopeless, miserable sack - loved every second of it.

Rose stirred beside him and he drew away from her just slightly to allow her room to maneuver. She sat up a little, sleepily brushing back the hair that had fallen in front of her face, then asked him what time it was.

“9:33, Rose time.”

“Blimey, I fell asleep that early?”

“You seemed tired,” the Doctor shrugged. “Maybe you were right to stay in tonight, but are you sure you don’t want to go back to your mother’s tonight? Watch TV with her?”

Rose shook her head. “No, no. She’s going over to Bev’s to play rummy."

“Alright,” he said, running his fingers through her hair. “You want to go to bed, then?”

Rose bit her lip. “Actually, Doctor, I wanted to tell you something.”

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. “Oh?” Rose nodded, and he took note of her body language. One leg was curled under her, the other knee brought up to her chest with her arms wrapped around it. She seemed anxious. Concern knitted his brow. “Rose? What’s wrong? Tell me, love.”

“It’s...it’s complicated. There’s a lot to it.”

He held his arms out to her and wiggled his fingers to indicate that he wanted her to come to him. She hesitated, still biting her lip. “You may not want me there in a minute.”

“Rose Tyler,” he admonished gently. “I _always_ want you beside me. Whatever's going on, you can tell me about it. It's okay."

She regarded him for a second, then came to resume her position snuggled into his side. He briefly considered tugging her into his lap, but decided against it. Let her tell him her news on her own terms, _then_ he’d pull her into his lap and snog her senseless.

The Doctor settled for kissing Rose's hair then laid his cheek in the spot his lips had just been. His fingers skated idly over her arm, doodling his love in Gallifreyan. “Okay, then, tell me. What’s going on, love?”

“I…” she took a deep breath and stopped. The Doctor waited her out, letting her gather her thoughts. “I invited my mum on board," she blurted.

“Rose, your mum is welcome on board anytime we’re in town, you know that.”

“That’s not what I mean,” she said in a hurry. “I mean, _I invited my mum on board._ ”

“What, like, to travel with us?” he asked, raising his head to look down at her, incredulous. She nodded, keeping her face hidden, and he didn’t answer for a moment. “Well, that's _brilliant_ , Rose! A capital idea! The two of you will have a wonderful time! You'll...wait. Why? Are you bored?”

“No, it’s not-”

“I don’t want you to be bored or lonely, Rose. I know it’s just me and you... That makes absolute sense though. Oh, I should have thought of this sooner. We've been staying away too long, yeah? Of course you've been missing your mother and friends. I will be happy to bring you home more, and your mum can certainly travel along! Gads, I’ve been thoughtless, haven’t I?”

“Doctor, that’s -”

“I mean, we have fun, least I like to think we do. But of course a girl needs other friends to turn to, and her mother most certainly. No man is an island, and no couple is an island either...they need people to lean on besides themselves and each other… How could I have been such a git?"

“ _Doctor,_ you really -”

“Of course I don’t mind your mother traveling with us for a while if that's what you want. Not at all! Actually, the more I think on it, the more it's brilliant! She could cook, and wouldn’t that make a nice change? I rather like your mum’s cooking, now that I’ve gotten used to it. And her tea saved the world, Rose! We can take her to Eviah and show her the flora and fauna, I suspect she’ll like that, don’t you? And then we can take her to Pradus...marvelous spas there. You two could have a week’s holiday of pampering! And then we could take her to the moon festival on Oswillon to the open-air market there - come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve taken _you_ there, yet...always meant to….and then...oh yes! Barcelona! I get to tell that joke again! What’s’a matter, Rose?”

Rose had scooted out from under his arm and was staring at him as if he had grown another head and started farting like a Slitheen.

“Now I think you really _have_ gone barmy, Doctor! You can't be serious, wanting my mother to come live with us? I was only _joking_...I wanted to get a rise out of you, see how you'd react!”

The Doctor looked at her and didn't say anything for a while, not quite sure how to proceed. Wheels spun in his mind, and he finally settled on the incredibly elequent, "Oh."

"What on Earth has gotten into you, Doctor? Why... _how_ could _you_ possibly want my _mum_ to come on board and travel with us? To _live_ with us?" 

Rose was indignant, and the Doctor sensed that now may be a good time to excuse himself and hide under the console for several hours. Perhaps a few days. Possibly a couple of weeks. Actually, let's just stay there 'til Christmas. But no, he had a duty to be honest to Rose. Rose deserved everything, not the least of which was the truth. Bracing himself and trying to figure out what to say and how to begin, he decided to jump right in.

"You've smelled funny lately."

"I've _what!?"_

_Bloody hell, that was the complete wrong thing to say. Nice one, Doctor._

"That's not what I mean, Rose, you don't smell _unpleasant_ , not at all, it's just that you've had a scent about you that I've never smelled before. I didn't know what it was, so I had the Tardis run a scan today."

He expected some additional anger because he'd run a scan without asking. In his wildest dreams, she forgave him because he was just so _thoughtful._

Rose didn't look mollified in the least. "And?"

The Doctor looked into her brown eyes, pleading for her to...hell, he didn't know, but he just wanted the next bit of this to go well. He sighed.

"Do you remember when we were talking a year or so ago about inter-species breeding and which species could mate and which couldn’t and the topic of Time Lords and humans came up?” Rose's eyes narrowed and the Doctor plowed on, “and you and I talked about having kids and I said that it was unlikely that we’d ever get pregnant but if we _did_ get pregnant it would likely be very physically taxing at the beginning and end of the pregnancy? Well, um...I figured that maybe you'd invited your mum because you thought you may need her help for a while."

Rose's eyes widened and her mouth formed a perfectly round 'O'. "Are you-"

"We may need the extra hands because we’re pregnant.” The Doctor cut her off, trying hard to fight back the huge smile that was sweeping his face. “We're preg - I mean, it’s...there’s gonna be a baby.”

He stifled a bubble of joyful laughter, knowing that now would probably not be the best time, biting his lip instead and watching her face. "What d'you think?"

"How long have you known this?" she asked quietly.

I ran a scan today, and it had just finished when you walked in the door this afternoon and called me old.” She looked at him blankly. “I found out about thirty seconds before you came from your mother’s flat.”

"When were you going to tell _me_?" she demanded.

“I hadn’t gotten that far yet. You called me old, Rose Tyler! Old and barmy! I had to handle that first, surely you understand.” She didn't smile and he went on, "Honestly, Rose, the screen had just told me when you walked in. We were busy and now we're here. Haven't had time to plan a big reveal."

Rose made a disbelieving ‘tcha’ sound and shook her head. The Doctor reached out to her and took her hand. "Rose, are you alright?"

"I don't know. Yes, I'm almost certain I am. I'm surprised. And afraid. And happy. I didn't think this could happen, so I had kind of given up on the idea. It's something I always wanted, but I wanted to be with you more. The thought of having both...it's amazing. Hard to believe. I don't know. I'm a bit overwhelmed right now. What...what do _you_ think? Is this something you want?"

"Only if you do."

"I'm not asking what I want, I'm asking what _you_ want. I want to know your thoughts."

The Doctor sighed and pulled her into his lap. “Rose, I’m incredibly, blissfully happy about this. Worried, yes. Scared, a bit. I'm terrified, in fact. And uncertain about what all of this means, too, absolutely. We didn't really plan for this, but here it is. It's happening. And am I excited? Thrilled? Delighted? Over-the-moon? _Oh, yes._ ”

"Is it safe?" Rose asked.

"It should be. I don't know for sure. I know that it will be challenging, but I'm right here, every moment. You're not the only one pregnant here, Rose." She raised her head to look at him with one eyebrow raised, and he went on. "Well, _obviously_ you're the only one gestating, considering I don't possess the right reproductive organs to sustain a pregnancy, if I did we wouldn't be here now as that certainly would be biologically impossible, reproductively speaking..."

_"Doctor..."_

He cleared his throat. “Right. Sorry, got off track again. What I mean is...you and I are a cohesive unit. A team. And although you are the only one physically carrying our child, you are not going through this pregnancy alone. I will be with you through every single step of the pregnancy, birth, and beyond. All of it.”

Rose sniffed once, and he thought about pulling her back to look at her face and check on her but she interrupted his thoughts. “Is that all?”

The Doctor sighed. “All my thoughts? Not even close, Rose Tyler. My brain is swirling with thoughts. But mostly, I’m just so _happy._ You and a little Time Tot...I can’t wrangle all of my thoughts properly at the moment, but I'm positively gleeful, Rose. Can't convey how happy I am.”

Rose was quiet against him for a minute, then sat up again. "Hang on. You were glad when I told you I'd invited my mother on board. You were serious?”

"Yep," he said cheerfully.

"You realize that means she would _live_ with us."

"Of course."

"In our home."

"Yes, I understand that."

"And you can't just go chucking her out into a nebula whenever the two of you butt heads."

The Doctor chuckled and cradled her closer again. "Rose, your mother and I have reached a point where we both realize that we are the two people who love you most in the universe. Both of us want only the best for you, and either of us would climb a mountain of flaming coals to see to your safety and comfort." Rose made a sound to protest, and he cut her off again. "Besides that, most of the squabbling your mother and I do these days is just out of old habit. For fun, really. Got to keep the old bird on her toes."

"Oi!"

"What?" he asked innocently.

Rose sat up again and looked at him. "You really want to bring my mother here, to live with us." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yes, or we should stick around London for a while. I think you may need or want your mother close by at first. The early part of pregnancy is hard enough without being cut off from one's family, and as we talked about, this pregnancy may be more taxing than a normal pregnancy." Rose shook her head in disbelief. "What?" the Doctor asked again.

"Nothing. I'm just having a harder time wrapping my mind around the idea of you wanting my mother living with us than the idea of us being parents."

The Doctor grinned, touching his tongue to the backs of his teeth. "Of course, there will have to be some stipulations. Minor things, really."

Rose sighed. "Go on, then."

“Only that I’m putting her room a couple of corridors over from ours and right next to the galley. D’rather your mum didn’t see me in my pants by accident if I can help it, and she’s going to be making all the tea as long as she’s here. I’m rather firm about that. Jackie Tyler’s tea is Earth-saving, if you didn’t know. She’s also welcome to make shepherd’s pie as often as she’d like. I’m sure the Tardis will understand.”

Rose sat up again and peered into his eyes. “You're really serious.” It was another statement instead of a question as she came to recognize the sincerity of his words. He wasn't having her on.

“Yep. It could be fun, actually!”

His smile was bright, his eyes twinkling and some of the uncertainty that clouded Rose's face was just starting to clear, then she began to cry again. "M'sorry," she snuffled into the tissue he gave her. "Seems M'always laughin' or cryin' the last couple weeks. When M'not sleepin'. I had wondered what was wrong with me...guess I know now! Just hormones, I suppose." Rose huffed a laugh on a breath, but it ended up being more of a sob.

The Doctor cupped her face and leaned forward to brush a light kiss against her lips. “Rose Tyler,” he said in a quiet voice, “I love you. We've been on countless adventures together and survived them all. This is just another adventure! And I know that you and I...well, I'm nothing special. Just an ill-behaved Time Lord, really. But you, Rose Tyler...you are the most incredible woman in the multiverse." Rose huffed another laugh-sob and he continued, "It's true! I knew you were special from 'run', and I’ve wanted you with me forever since Platform One. Since I told you I was alone and you told me -”

“'There’s me'.” Rose smiled softly and looked down, almost shyly. “I remember.”

“Nearly everything has changed for us since then, you know? I mean, look at me! Not only did you manage to domesticate me and transform me into a new man because you loved me, I _literally_ became a new man!” Rose giggled and the Doctor smiled. “Your mom doesn’t yell at me as much anymore or slap me and has even started kissing me. Kissing me, Rose! But her roast is so good, I think I’ll just deal with a little bussing on the cheek every now and again, yeah? S’worth it.” Rose giggled again.

He sobered. "But some things have never changed, not from the very beginning. I’m still the Doctor, you’re still Rose Tyler, you’re still my plus-one and I still want you with me forever."

A single, crystal tear fell from Rose's eye, splashed on her cheek and left a shining trail when it ran down her face. The Doctor wiped it away absently with the backs of his knuckles. Rose sniffed and smiled at him. "Well, one of those things isn't true anymore," she said.

He blinked at her. "What...of course they are....?"

Rose shook her head at him, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "No, I'm not your plus-one anymore." She took his hand and lay it on her still-flat belly, covering it with her own. "Seems I'm your plus-two now."

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this turned out _hella_ long. Sorry!


End file.
